The Best Laid Plans
by The Almighty Bonk
Summary: Bellatrix kills Harry instead of Voldemort. Rated T for violence and language. This is my first story, so please R/R! Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. This is Rowling's world, I'm just playing in it. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: Bellatrix's Mistake

Chapter One: Bellatrix's Mistake

Voldemort looked into the green eyes of the baby in front of him. "Goodbye, Harry Potter," he said, raising his wand high, and aiming it at the babe in his crib. The explosion was defining. Voldemort saw his mistake just nanoseconds before it happened. His body was torn apart like he'd swallowed a live grenade, and his soul, torn and mutilated as it was, fled before it could be discovered.

That was seventeen years ago, and it would not happen again. His cool red eyes watched the bright green eyes of Harry Potter once more. He outnumbered him, and the boy no longer had his mother's protection. All to easy, really. He took a moment of caution. Was it a trick? No, he didn't think so. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bellatrix raise her wand. "No!" he shouted, stunning the wild-looking woman, who nodded, and lowered her wand.

He looked at harry again, and saw defiance in his eyes. Too bad it would be for nothing. He raised his own wand, and pointed it, for the last time, at the great Harry Potter. "Goodbye," he said, all to well remembering the first time he had attacked the boy. He hesitated.

Harry Potter watched in silence as the Dark Lord stared at him. His feet would betray him any second, and start running, but he knew it would be useless. His nerves seemed to fail him in his arms, however, and as Voldemort raised his wand, he gripped his own. He would not die without a fight. He saw everything as though it were slowed down, and he raised his wand as well.

Bellatrix raised her wand as she saw Harry do the same. Foolishly, she thought of protecting her Master. Earning his praise. Before anyone could react, even her beloved Master, she shouted "Avada Kadavra!" A jet of green light flew from her wand, and struck Harry in the chest. The power behind the spell was enough to knock him clean off his feet. He hit a tree with a sickening, bodily crunch, and fell to the ground.

Voldemort rounded on his lieutenant. "How dare you!" he bellowed. His followers backed away, save for Lestrange. The last time he had lost control as to start shouting this loudly, people died in great numbers. She trembled in front of him. "My Lord," she gasped, breathless. His anger was something she loved, even when it was directed at her. "My Lord, I saw him raise his wand!" she said, still looking at him, dead in the eyes.

Voldemort's long fingered hand struck Bellatrix across the cheek, and she fell to the ground. In his rage, he had even forgotten that he could use the Cruciatus Curse. That did not last long. "Crucio!" he shouted, his face livid. She writhed on the ground, screaming loud enough for her voice to carry all the way to Hogwarts, where the people in the great hall looked up in surprise.

He lifted the curse from her, and fumed. "Does my lieutenant think that I am too weak to kill a seventeen year old boy?!" he shouted again. Most of his followers cowered behind trees some distance away. "Get up!" he bellowed, rage flooding his body. He kicked her, hard in the side. She stood, shaking. His anger was no longer something she liked to see. It filled her with fear that was so great, it was all she could to from revealing herself where she stood.

"M-my Lord," she croaked, tears welling up in her eyes. He did not care. He took a menacing step towards her, and she backed up a step from him. His features softened. "I am sorry, Bellatrix."

She gasped. Was she going to be forgiven? Happyness flooded her body, but turned once more into fear as he raised his wand to her. "Avada Kadavra!" he hissed, and Bellatrix Lestrange fell dead.


	2. Chapter 2: Talking with Dumbledore

Chapter Two: Talking with Dumbledore.

Harry Potter's eyes went wide as he was struck by the killing curse, not from Voldemort, but from Bellatrix. He was not alive to feel his body slam against the tree. All was silent. Harry figured that, since he understood what Silence was, he must not be totally gone. As this dawned on him, so did the fact that he was sitting down. Surely, he reasoned, if he was sitting, he must have had a body with which to sit. As everything fell into place, he opened his eyes and, with an astonished gasp, saw Dumbledore.

"H-hello, Dumbledore," he said, utterly bemused.

"Hello, Harry," said the late Albus, smiling. No, he was positively beaming at the boy, his eyes twinkling with delight.

Rage filled Harry as Dumbledore smiled at him. _Yes, smile at the pawn you've sacrificed, you barmy old twit_, he thought bitterly. Dubledore saw this, and frowned again. "What is troubling you, dear boy?" Before harry knew it, he was standing and shouting. "Stop smiling at me like that, you damnable old fool!" he shouted at the ex-headmaster. Dumbledore looked taken aback, but quickly hid it. "You just want to pretend that this will all work out for the best, don't you!" continued the enraged boy. "But Voldemort is still alive, and people will continue to die!" Harry's eyes filled with tears as pictures swam in his head of Ginny, falling in a flash of green light. Then Hermione, and Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys.

Harry fell back into the chair he had been sitting in, shaking. Dumbledore thought for a moment, before speaking. "Harry, I'm sure you're quite upset, but let me explain," he said, calmly. Harry shot him a nasty look. "You see, what was killed was not you, but the part of the soul still inside you," he carried on.

"S-so I'm not really dead?" Harry asked, his eyes widening. "No, dear boy, on the whole, I think not." Dumblecore smiled. Harry felt relief fill him, then doubt. "But Voldemort wasn't the one who killed me." Harry said, looking hopeful. Dumbledore, on the other hand, looked frightened. "What did you say, Harry?" he asked, and the shock did not leave his face.

Harry looked taken aback, but answered. "It was Bellatrix. I involuntarily raised my wand, and she killed me." Dumbledore was positively livid at the news. "Dumbledore?" Harry asked uncertainly. "I-is everything all right?" he asked, fearing the worst.

Dumbledore got up and paced back and forth. He muttered things Harry could not hear. Harry watched him for a moment, and took in his surroundings. He was sitting in Dumbledore's office, much to his surprise. The portraits that lined the walls, however, were completely empty.

"Dumbledore?" harry asked again, and Albus looked up. "What is going on?" Dumbledore sat back down, behind his desk, and sighed. "I am so sorry, Harry. It was supposed to be Voldemort that killed you. I should have foreseen the possibility that it might be someone else." Dumbledore let out a shaky sigh. "The Horcrux has not been destroyed."

Harry swallowed hard. "What does that mean, professor?" he asked, shaking himself.

Dumbledore looked up at Harry, then back at his desk. "You are dead, Harry. I'm so sorry," he said, a tear streaking down his lined cheek. The rage that Harry had before was long gone now. "Surely there can be something?" he asked, sounding hopeful. Dumbledore shook his head, and gave a small sob. Harry fell back against his chair.

Both Harry and Dumbledore jumped when a soft knocking came from the door.


	3. Chapter 3: The Forest

Chapter Three: The Forest

Voldemort looked from his dead luetenent, to the Death Eaters cowering behind the trees. He was still angry that his kill had been taken from him, and he shot curses at the Death Eaters. Those he hit fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. He looked back to the Potter's body, but gasped when he saw it was nolonger lieing there.

"Where is he!" Voldemort shouted, and he rounded on the half-giant, Hagrid. He was still bound to the tree. "What did you do with the body of the boy!" He shouted unreasonably at him. He shouted in rage, and cruiciated the beast of a man. The giant blood in him was not enough to shrug off a powerful spell as that one, and Hagrid howled in pain.

"Naughty, naughty," teased a voice from the edge of the trees. Voldemort looked around, and spotted Harry, grinning lightly. "No!" he screamed, and took his wand from Hagrid, aiming it at the boy. With a cassual flick, Harry disarmed the Dark Lord, and caught his wand as it flew through the air. Voldemort was stunned into silence.

"How!" howled Voldemort, no wandless. He had the ability to use magic without a wand, but he could not kill or torture with out it. Harry's grin stretched wider. "I should thank dear Lestrange. Pity it doesn't look like she's in the talking mood." He nodded at the corpse of the departed Bellatrix. Harry laughed quietly. Voldemort took on a look of utter confusion. Was the boy insane?

"No," said Harry in a lazy, drawling voice. "I should be thanking you for not attacking first. Otherwise, I would still be traped." Voldemort's confusion increased. "I should explain, shouldn't I?" asked Harry. Just then, a masked Death Eater poked his head out from behind his tree, and was blasted of his feet by Harry. "Such nosey fellows you hang around with these days."

Voldemort started towards harry, as if to strangle him. He was imobalized at once and stood rooted to the spot. "You really should listen," said Harry. "You see, when you attacked me the first time," Harry said, seeming to stumble on the word 'me.' "You created another Horcrux without knowing. Harry Potter. Had you killed me, you would have killed your own Hrocrux, and you'dve been shit out of luck, I'm afraid to say."

Realization dawned on Voldemort's face. "You mean to say," he started, searching Harry's face. His eyes caught something they had missed before. Harry's eyes were red, and slitted like a cat's. "That you are me?" he asked, shocked. "Catch on quick, don't you?" Harry shot back with a smirk. Voldemort looked furious. "You will not talk to me in that way!" he growled.

"That's really my chioce," said Harry, simply. "Honestly, it would be easier to weed out the filth with you, but I can just as easily go it alone." He rasied his wand, Voldemort's stuck in his pocket. Voldemort looked furious once more, but muttered "Fine." and Harry undid the spell keeping him locked in place. "Hogwarts?" asked Harry. "Hogwarts," growled Voldemort. "And I want my wand back."


	4. Chapter 4: In Limbo

Chaprter Four: In Limbo

Harry and Dumbledore both jumped when a soft knocking came from the door.

Dumbledore stared suspiciously, but Harry, disregarding the stare completely, got to his feet, and pulled open the door. There stood Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry let out a violent roar as he hurtled himself towards her. She did not stop him as his fingers closed around her throat. As she was already dead and he could not choke her, but it didn't stop him from trying. He shook her back and forth, shouting obscenities at her. She stood and took what was coming.

Dumbledore stood as well, and pulled harry gently away from her. "Now, Harry, you can't harm her, what is the use?" he asked, still holding Harry back from attacking her. Harry fought against Dumbledore's grip. "This is her fault!" he shouted, tears streaming down his face. Dumbledore did not say anything, but looked to Bellatrix. Her head was bowed, and a single tear fell from her face.

"Miss Lestrange?" Dubledore asked, none to kindly. He had half a mind to let go of Harry. "Is there something you'd like to say?" Bellatrix looked up, frightened, before croaking out "I'm Sorry."

Harry froze. He looked quite comical, his hands outstretched to her, and leaning to grab her, but completely still. Shock mingled with the rage on his face. "She's lying," he said at once, still straining to get out of Dumbledore's oddly firm grip. "I don't think so, Harry." said Dumbledore calmly. "Please sit back down."

Harry looked at Dumbledore as though he were mad, but did sit back down, eying Bellatrix. "Miss Lestrange, would you like to sit down as well?" Dumbledore asked, motioning to a chair that had not been there before. Bellatrix looked up, slightly afraid, but sat nonetheless. Dumbledore returned behind his desk, and sat back down. "Now, Miss Lestrange, would you mind informing us how you got to be here?"

Bellatrix looked up, and then looked around. "Where is here?" she asked in a cracked voice. "Limbo," answered Dumnldore calmly. Bellatrix nodded, though no one had asked her anything. "Now, how did you get here?" asked Dumbledore again. "I..." Bellatrix seemed at a loss for words, before she gulped, and started talking again. "He killed me, I suppose," she said, bowing her head. "And then I was all alone, in this sort of mist, and a man in a cloak came, and asked me where I'd like to go. I told him that I wanted to see Harry Potter."

"Why did you want to see me?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. "I think we'd both like to know that," said Dumbledore. Bellatrix looked up from her hands, which she was studying. "To say I was sorry," she answered, looking back down.

"Why did you want to apologize?" Harry asked, scoffing. Bellatrix swallowed hard, and started talking. "When I was a girl, my family was killed by Voldemort." she said, obviously with some difficulty. "He tortured me for what felt like an eternity. My mind broke, and I was enamoured by him/" she said with disgust tainting her voice. "He adopted me into a family of his supporters, and there I stayed until I was old enough to become a Death Eater."

Harry looked as if he was going to say something, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him. "I did terrible things then," she continued."I tortured and killed for him." She looked like she was about to cry. "A-and when he k-killed me," she said, her voice cracking. "I was not insane anymore. For the first time since I was five." She swallowed again, looking first at Dumbledore, then Harry. "And I wanted to say I was sorry."

Harry looked sceptically at Dumbledore. "Surely she's lying!" he said, heatedly. Dumbledore shook his head. "No, madness does not follow you after death," he explained. "I knew her parents, as well. They were not part of the Black family. I was sorry to hear of Mr. and Mrs. Prewett's passing."

"Fat lot of good 'sorry' does the situation," said Harry, looking for a reason to stay angry at his killer. Bellatrix looked up, confused slightly. "Situation?" she asked. Dumbledore explained what had happened to his perfect plan. Bellartix looked surprised at the information that Harry had been a Horcrux.

"I think I can help."


End file.
